A Nest of Snakes
by HydraLegion
Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, traitors and loyalists alike, prepare yourselves to be confused and uncertain. Watch as we weave a tale of treachery and lies, listen as secrets are revealed and hidden traitors are discovered. We are the Legion of Hydras, we are the Legion of Secrets and Lies, and we are the Legion of One.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Welcome to a story of secrets and lies, of treacheries and plots a thousand years in the making. Welcome to the story of a Legion of Hydras.

Just a heads up, soem things in this might contain spoilers, but not unil much later chapters. The spoilers will likely come from _Deliverance Lost_ and _Legion._

_DISCLAIMER:_ **_I own nothing in this story except for the characters, some names, and some of the weapons. Everything else belongs to Games Workshop and Black Library._**

The ship corridors hissed with steam and the walls looked riddled with rust and decay. As Lysander caught his breath leaning against the wall the ground began to tremble. The mob rounded the corner and charged towards Lysander's slumped form. As he raised his head he could see the glinting knives and short shanks that glittered in the leading boys hands.

Lysander turned away and ran, disregarding the age-old rule of never leaving the path on a space hulk. As he ran deeper he could hear the sounds of infighting among the mob as they decided whether or not to give chase. All he had done was take a piece of nutribread, but food was scarce and the gangers would defend the resource with everything they had. To even accidently break the strict rationing regime was an offence punishable by death. Lysander looked behind him and could see that the mob was beginning to break apart and dissolve as their confidence in the deep of the Hulk waned. The creatures that dwelled this deep were fierce and dangerous, monstrous beasts and feral orks walked these halls and slaughtered those that dared to enter their realm. Lysander could feel the cold setting inas he ventured further.

_I'm going to die in here, a frozen corpse_ thought Lysander. The deeper ships of the Hulk had failing life support systems and this one would soon be impassable. As he walked the corridor looking for a sign or a terminal to give him directions the lights flickered. It was common for ships this old to start to degrade from neglect, but the ships lights never flickered. It was unheard of to intentionally destroy any light source and some of the gangs even spent time fixing up lights and restoring them. Light was the only way to survive and was as vital as food. Flickering lights meant one thing, a warp disturbance.

This hulk did not have a set route and traveled at random sometimes dipping in to the warp only to reappear moments later, but even then Lysander would have felt the cold rush of leaving real space and warm reentry to the materium.

Only one of the mind beasts could have disturbed the power lines and caused the flicker. Lysander realized that if one of the mind beasts was there soon a horde of insect swarms would be on him ripping and tearing him to pieces. It was considered a feat of great ability to slay a mind beast and even more to enter its lair. The lairs of these beasts were often treasure troves of weapons and supplies, if you controlled one other would flock to you and a new gang might even start. Lysander was not a fighter though and had no other choice. He ran.

The cold air whipped and stung his eyes as he ran deeper into the hulk the chattering noise began and grew louder.

As he ran Lysander thought, _If one of the mind beasts catches up I'm dead and no one would even know_. Lysander looked around and saw the shadows of the bugs rising up around him. The air was split with a wet slapping sound and a sharp pain ripped into his side. As he fell he could see the door to and other ship, like the gangers the swarms were territorial and would not cross boundaries. Lysander could feel the cold metal grates pressing into his face. He dug his fingers in to the holes and dragged himself forward trying to rise, but before he could get to his knee the heel of his foot exploded in pain. The chittering swarm had reached him and now he had no chance to survive. The swarm would devour him down to the bones and leave his skeleton there to serve as a warning.

As the rest of the swarm raced towards him, Lysander tried to throw the leading creature off his foot and bashed it against the wall. The creature's eyes glazed over and slumped over, but its jaws were locked and still were digging into his foot. The corridor lit up and the mind beast floated towards him, the tendrils of power emanating from its exposed brain. The swarm seemed to unify around it and acted as a cohesive group charging to kill. As the first of the swarm reached Lysander he pulled out his shank and shoved it into the eye of the first bug. A hollow victory as no matter what the swarm would eventually over take him. Even as the beast slashed his chest and legs he could see the doors control panel flicker green and hiss. A single shot rang out and the mind beast flinched, as the beast moved to attack the source of the noise a burst of shots impacted its brain and it exploded into a shower of gore. With the larger beast the bugs lost the will to fight and turned on one another, Lysander leaned against the wall and peered into the darkness beyond the door trying to see what had saved him.

The glowing barrel of a large gun emerged from the depths and it panned about the room. Once the gun dipped down and the figure-stepped through Lysander could feel the terror rising back up and adrenaline began pumping through his body. A fully armored Chaos Marine stepped out of the misty darkness and kneeled next to Lysander.

The giant mag-clamped the bolter to his belt and reached up to his helmet. There was a soft hiss and a clank as the helmet lock disengaged and the giant removed. Lysander stared up into the face of the marine. The marine had a coppery skin and a heavy brow. Most remarkable were his eyes, the corridor was dim and yet they glittered a bright green. The marine leaned down and picked up Lysander's bleeding body and threw him over his shoulder. The marine carried him into the darkness and Lysander finally allowed his body's need for rest to overtake him.

When Lysander came too he was lying on a cot on a dank room. Lysander set up and tried to stand when he fell face first to the ground. His legs felt like they were on fire and he couldn't move, the pain overwhelmed him and he blacked out.

When he awoke again he lay there and thought about what had happened. The gangs had chased him into the hulk and then the bugs attacked, from then on he had a faint memory of an Astartes appearing. Lysander thought about what he knew of the marines.

The only things he knew about the warriors were the rumors and myths exchanged around the chem-fires. People had said they were giants and Lysander had seen that to be true. Most of the warriors lived in the eye of terror as roaming war bands and raided the imperium, but this one was alone. The marines were like gods on a battlefield and one well places marine could turn the tide of battle. Lysander wondered what this marine was doing camped out on a hulk. Some war bands operated from hulks, but they were the less temperamental ones, the hulk Lysander was on was not the least bit agreeable. Any attempt to steer it had resulted in the plasma reactors in the ships going critical.

There was a soft click and the door slid inot the wall as the marine walked through. This was the first time Lysander could really see his armor. The armor was a deep blue with a greenish tint around the edges. There was an ornate chainsword attached to his belt and a bolt pistol clipped to his leg. The marine was wearing a mismatch of armor plates that did not seem to flow together. It was evident that it had been repaired many times from the bumps of sealant and the deep scratches s on the shoulder pads. The marine disengaged his helmet and pulled one of the large chairs up to the tableside.

"Roll onto your back, I need to check the wounds you suffered," said the marine, his voice was not a harsh guttural noise like many of the gangers, "If the wounds are infected by the poison of the tyranids then you will need more serious attention."

The marine reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out an auspex device and ran it over Lysander's legs. The device beeped when it ran over the bandaged area of his legs. The marine stared intently at the device for a while longer then stood up.

"The wounds were deep but the claws missed the vital tendons and arteries," said the marine, "luckily for you the poison was not particularly toxic and your immune system fought it off." The marine picked up his helmet and placed it on his head and attached it with a click. He set the auspex in the cupboard and pulled out an chemical pack. The marine smashed it against the wall and laid it on Lysander's head.

Lysander could feel the chemicals in the pack seeping into his head making him drowsy, it was a much nicer way to knock someone out. Lysander could feel his grip on the world loosening and sliding away.

Lysander coughed out, "M name is Lysander." The marine, still facing the door, tapped a button on the side of his helmet. There was a click as the armors external vox turned on.

The marine started out the door as he spoke, "My name is Alpharius."


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note:

Here we go again!

GENERAL WARHAMMER 40K DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for my characters and some of the palces or weapons.

Lysander grunted as he heaved the metal scraps onto the growing pile. His wound had healed about a week or so ago and Alpharius had ordered him into physical exercise.

Alpharius did not talk very much but when he did it was either in reply to a question or giving Lysander an order. The rehabilitation regime was a mix of running and strength. The marine had started with having Lysander just do standard laps around the camp and then proceeded to give him weights to run with. The strength training was very basic and recently had become cleaning the camp of all the random scrap.

Lysander finished dumping the scrap and headed back to the center of the camp. According to Alpharius this area had once been the bridge of an imperial ship. Luckily the bug presence had been minimal and he had cleared them out shortly after arriving. As Lysander entered the main camp Alpharius motioned for him to come closer. Alpharius pointed to an autopistol on a bench.

"I found some old auto weapons for you to carry, the ammo is worth more then the gun itself so only use it sparingly," warned Alpharius.

Lysander reached down and picked up the pistol feeling the heavy weight. The gun grip was wrapped in a worn rag and the slide was sticky. Not only was the gun a rusty brown color but also Lysander could see actual rust setting into the barrel.

Alpharius picked up a cleaning kit and handed it to Lysander saying, "Learning to clean and fire the gun will be a part of your training everyday. Only fire 5 rounds a day in training and shot form ten meters."

"Should I start carrying the gun with me?" asked Lysander.

"Of course, never leave yourself defenseless," explained the marine, "without a weapon chances of the bugs and gangs killing you rise, now start cleaning it."

Lysander stared at the gun unsure of where to begin, "Um, I'm not really sure how to take it apart."

"Then learn to."

Lysander stood up from the workbench and pulled back the slide. He slipped it in his belt and walked up to Alpharius.

"I finished the gun, what else needs to be done?" asked Lysander.

"Actually, I have a surprise for you, I was not left on this damned hulk with no supplies," said Alpharius," Using some of the extra tech and one of the gangers skull I made you a servo-cogitator."

A small skull with a trailing mechedendrite floated out of the darkness. The skull had a red bionic eye and half of its scalp was a shiny metal color, The mechadendrite had a connection utility on the end and a small plasma flame attachment.

The skull floated towards Lysander and beeped twice. The skull shuddered and the bionic eye emitted a small scanner light.

"Stay still," said Alpharius, "It is linking to your genetic structure."

The Skull moved around Lysander and poked him with the mechadendrite. Lysander reached out and ran his hand along the smooth metal of the skull. He could feel the heat from the circuit lying beneath the top and the slight vibrations as the small antigrav projector kept it in the air.

"The skull will help you with some of the repairs that need to be done," said Alpharius, "I installed the basic modules and an Adaptive Learning Module to its memory core."

Lysander poked the skull making it wobble slightly and asked," I thought that machines were not supposed to learn and adapt like humans."

"You are correct, in the imperium it is a criminal offence to harbor or create anything resembling an AI, but we are no longer members of the Imperium so the same rules do not apply. We are not the blind servants of the Emperor and use every tool we may to survive," explained Alpharius.

The skull shuddered and rotated twice. The metal cybernetics began to crackle with sparks as electricity ran along the circuits and wires.

"Information Request: What is the identification of this unit?" asked a metallic monotone voice.

It took Lysander a minute to realize the noise had come from the skull. He stepped back and stared at the skull.

Alpharius chuckled. "Ah, that. I took the liberty of installing an audio interface."

"What does it want?" asked Lysander.

"I believe it wants a name, choose whatever you want its certification number is 5R33," replied Alpharius.

Lysander thought for a moment. The skull would be accompanying him everywhere it seemed like so he would need something other then a string of numbers and letters. The skull had once belonged to a boy on the hulk and now it was Lysander's companion. A name swirled in his head and clouded out all the other options. Janus. The skulls name would be Janus.

"Janus," said Lysander, "its name will be Janus."

"Processing Input. Acceptable ID. Will proceed to initiate systems reboot," said Janus. The skull floated over to a shelf and set down. The bright red light of bionic eye slowly faded into a dull grey metal.

Alpharius turned away and began waling to the workbench. As he left he called over his shoulder, "Tomorrow you will be fixing the energy routers. It is a long walk and lest I checked there were some bugs in that section."

Lysander groaned but acknowledged his fate. As he trudged off to bed his mind was alive with worries and apprehension. He had not fought and bugs since being rescued and thought of his chances. He was stronger and faster, he had weapons of course, but the bugs were in swarms and had armored shells. Would his training pay off or would the bugs finally claim him?

As he lay under the blanket a small red light floated towards his cot.

"Query: What is my masters name?" asked Janus. The hollow voice was slightly less metallic and had taken on a child's inflection.

Lysander looked at the floating eye. The rest of the skull was hazy in the darkness. "My names is Lysander, but you can call me Sander." Answered Lysander.

"Acknowledged. Initiating perimeter identification and subsequent sweep."

The stress and hardships of the day overwhelmed Lysander and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

"Sander," said a sharp voice.

"What is it?" said a groggy Lysander.

"Sander," said the voice again this time accompanied by a jab with a metal object.

"I'm up, I'm up," said Lysander. As he lifted his head and set his legs on the floor the hazy shape of Janus came into view.

"Alpharius has requested your participation in repairing energy routers," stated Janus, "It is suggested that you enter area with full combat gear and energy synapse repair tools."

"Got it, tell Alpharius that I will be back later tonight," said Lysander.

"Not possible," replied Janus," Alpharius left approximately thirty-three minutes prior for an unspecified objective."

Lysander considered his options. Simply proceed with thejob as instructed or wait for Alpharius return. The thoughts of puinishment laps quicly discouraged any qualms about venturing into the Hulk.

"Get the energy repair tools and meet me near exit C," instructed Lysander.

"Acknowledged," replied Janus.

As the skull floated towards the workshop, Lysander walked towards the armory.

The doors opened with a sharp his and Lysander looked around the room. The bolt weapons that usually occupied a rack in the corner was missing, and the chainsword that usually rested on the wall rack was missing. Alpharius had clearly gone out in full combat load.

Lysander reached for his locker and pulled out the flak jacket inside. He set the jacket on the desk and grabbed his combat boots. As he laced the boots he considered his weapon options. He reached into his locker and picked up the belt with his pistol. He slotted two extra mags in his belt and attached a knife to his thigh.

Lysander thought about Alpharius warning of bugs and picked up a sheathed gladius. He clipped the blade to the belt on his left side and walked towards exit C.

When he reached the door Janus was waiting. The skull held a large pack in its mechadendrite that should have by all rights pulled the skull from the sky. Lysander took the pack from Janus and clicked the door button.

As Lysander walked through the corridors he reviewed the route. Most of the path was in safe areas. The last four hundred or so feet were in areas he never had entered. The distance of unknown area was small, but that was still four hundred feet of exposure. Lysander walked the path removing any debris that had fallen in his way.

The door to the energy routers was ahead and Lysander walked towards it. He had stepped over the last grate when it exploded upwards. Lysander stumbled forwards and fell onto the ground. He rolled over and ripped his pistol free. The bug was disoriented from ramming the grate and shook its head. The bug was larger than most, but was nowhere near the size of one of the mind beasts. Lysander squeezed off two shot and the crack of gunfire was loud in the closed space. The beast twitched and fell back into the hole. Lysander could here a skittering noise as the beast scurried away.

"Janus, open the door!" shouted Lysander as he kept his pistol pointed at the hole.

"Preliminary scans show signs of locking programming. Orders?" asked Janus.

"Open the damn door however you can!" answered Lysander.

The hall fell deadly silent; the only breaks in noise were the beeps from Janus.

"Open," said Janus.

Lysander loosened the knife in his sheath and entered the room. The room was large, and covered in rubble. Despite searching the whole room there was no sign of eny routers. Lysander walked over to where Janus was scanning a terminal in the wall.

"What have you found?" asked Lysander.

"Nothing relating to any energy related installations. I have identified a map of surrounding rooms," replied Janus.

"Bring the up," instructed Lysander.

A map of the rooms around him appeared on the terminal. As Lysander studied the map it looked less and less like a engineering room and more like a crew quarters.

"There were never any energy routers here," growled Lysander.

"Is it possible that Alpharius was misinformed?" asked Janus.

"No, he would have had to check the routers at some point so there no reason for him to give us a wrong location." Answered Lysander.

"Sander, you need to see this. Scanners indicate a number of life forms headed towards our locations, orders?" inquired Janus.

Lysander looked around the room noting entrances and debris that could offer cover. He quickly ordered Janus to close doors on the right and entrance sides. Lysander ran towards the fallen metal scrap. AS he ducked behind the cover he could hear the doors closing. Lysander checked his pistol and set a mag on the ground beside him. Janus floated over and hovered behind the metal.

"Doors are closed, enemy will be here within thirty seconds," Informed Janus.

Lysander kneeled next to the metal and rested his arms on the side. He aimed the pistol at the door breathing deeply. The entire room shuddered, then the doors blew inwards. One of the larger beasts was lading a pack of smaller swarms. Lysander aimed at the leading beast and fired off a shot. The round pinged of his carapace and hit one of the smaller bugs. The beast slowed down allowing the swarm to overtake it. Lysander could count fifteen total bugs charging. He pointed the gun at the swarmed and unloaded the whole mage. AS the swarm kept gaining ground six of the bugs fell to the ground dead.

The bugs were almost on Lysander when he pulled out his knife. The gun only had a few rounds left and he needed a weapon that would not run dry. He jammed the knife into the body of the first leaping bug. The knife pierced the chitin and dark purple blood ran out onto Lysander's hand. He ripped the knife free before firing a round into the next bug. One of the bugs slashed at his leg opening up a bloody cut. Lysander stabbed down and killing the bug. Lysander jumped up onto the next piece of scrap loosing off another round before jumping to an adjacent pile. The bugs began to move towards him. Lysander risked a quick glance and could see the beast was still hanging back waiting for the smaller bugs to bleed him dry. Lysander shot another bug in the face before stabbing one in the eye. He wrenched the knife back only to have a bug jump onto his back. The bug reared up and stabbed down. Lysander felt the sharp blade of the bug pierce the flak jacket and stab into his flesh. Luckily the jacket stopped all the force and the blade didn't pierce very far. Lysander reached around and ripped the bug off before throwing it into the wall. The bug slid down and lay still. Lysander shot another bug and stabbed the other. The last one circled, waiting for a moment to strike. Lysander followed turning his back to the door the bugs entered. It was too late when he realized his error. He heard the scrape of chitin against metal and threw himself to the floor. The large beast flew over his head and landed on the ground.

Lysander regained his feet and shot the last bug. The beast turned back and began charging Lysander. Lysander raised the pistol and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked dry. The best closed the gap and leapt at Lysander, with no time to duck or dodge, Lysander braced. The beast was heavier and bowelled him over. The claws ripped through his jacket and gut a gash in his chest. Lysander howled as the pain erupted in his chest. The beast chittered and reared back to strike again.

Lysander kicked up throwing the beast off, he rolled to the side and scrabbled to his feet. He reached for the gladius and unsheathed it. He felt the cold grip in his hand and wondered what he should do. Alpharius had shown him how to fight with a knife but had yet to show him how to use a sword. The beast quickly regained it senses and started towards Lysander. Lysander did not want to be caught off guard by the beast so he started to run towards the beast as well. The beast leapt towards him, but Lysander was ready. He thrust the blade out, but at the last second the beast twisted and batted the blade form Lysander's hand. Lysander spun around facing the beast, hand still ou stretched watched as the beast lunged for him. Before he could scream a brust of flames projected from his hand and hit the beast. The beast shrieked as it died. Lysander felt drained an collapsed to the ground, he laid on the floor panting before pulling himself to his feet and use the gladius as a walking stick. Lysander limped over to the scrap metal and sat down. He picked up the mag and slotted it into his pistol. All of the pain and soreness was quickly becoming apparent as the adrenaline subsided.

He limped to the terminal and saw Janus cowering under the desk.

"Open the doors," said Lysander flatly.

"Acknowledged," replied Janus.

Lysander turned to the door and watched as it opened. He began walking toward it when he felt his body run cold. The feeling was like jumping into a pool of ice. A shape appeared out of the darkness and floated into the room. It was a mind beast. It turned to Lysander and unleashed a blast of energy. Lysander felt the ground disappear and the pile of scrap as it impacted his back. He rose up, too proud to lie down and die. Before the beast could charge another blast a blade appeared behind it. Lysander gaped as the blade promptly inserted itself into the beast forehead. As the mind beast fell to the ground the wielder became obvious. Alpharius stood there, in full power armor with chainsword and bolter strapped to his belt holding a combat blade.

Alpharius walked towards him checking the dead bugs for any movement. When he reached Lysander instead of checking his wounds he pulled his head closer. He looked into his eyes and then scanned him with an auspex.

"My wounds are on my chest and leg, not my head," muttered Lysander.

"The wounds will heal but first I must know the extent of your power," replied Alpharius as he clipped the auspex to his belt.

"What power? I didn't do anything I swear. I don't know how the flames got there," pleaded Lysander.

"So you know it was the flames that I find disconcerting?" asked Alpharius.

Lysander squirmed, "Well yeah, sometimes one of the gangers could do stuff like that, but then the other boys would try and kill him."

"Do you now why they did that?" inquired Alpharius.

"No," answered Lysander, "they would kill him then dump the body in on of the grave rooms."

"The gangs here have learned to fear one thing above all." explained Alpharius,

"When traveling through the warp with limited protection, having a Psyker nearby is like holding a beacon for daemons."

"A Psyker?" said Lysander, "but there is no way I'm a Pskyer."

"My dear boy, your are most definitely one that the imperium would call a Witch."

Authors note:

Thanks for reading, I read some comments and will be explaining all of the reasons for Lysadner being on a hulk. Until next time!


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